To Judge vs Judging Infinitives & Gerunds

When and How to Use Each Expression?

Get a sense of when and how each expression can be used through the following examples!

To judge (Infinitive)

Purpose or Intention: Use the infinitive "to judge" when you want to express a purpose, intention, desire, or potential action

Example

I want to judge the talent show to discover new performers.

Judging (Gerund)

Activity or Experience: Use the gerund "judging" when you want to refer to the activity itself or the experience as a noun.

Example

Judging requires a keen eye for detail and good judgment.

Where can infinitives/gerunds be placed in a sentence?

To judge (Infinitive)

• 1. Subject

  To judge is a difficult task that requires fairness and impartiality.

  To judge is a difficult task that requires fairness and impartiality.

  • "*To judge*" serves as the subject of the sentence.
  • Infinitive phrase (subject) + verb (is) + noun phrase (a difficult task that requires fairness and impartiality).
• 2. Object

  She wants me to judge the art competition.

  She wants me to judge the art competition.

  • "Me *to judge* the art competition" is the object of the verb "wants."
  • Noun (She) + verb (wants) + noun phrase (me *to judge* the art competition).
• 3. Adjective Modifier

  I need a criteria to judge the performances.

  I need a criteria to judge the performances.

  • "*To judge* the performances" modifies the noun "criteria."
  • Noun (I) + verb (need) + noun phrase (a criteria *to judge* the performances).

Judging (Gerund)

• 1. Subject

  Judging can be subjective and open to interpretation.

  Judging can be subjective and open to interpretation.

  • "*Judging*" is the subject of the sentence.
  • Gerund (subject) + verb (can be) + adjective phrase (subjective and open to interpretation).
• 2. Object

  I enjoy judging the art exhibitions.

  I enjoy judging the art exhibitions.

  • "*Judging* the art exhibitions" is the object of the verb "enjoy."
  • Noun (I) + verb (enjoy) + gerund (*judging* the art exhibitions).
• 3. Object of Preposition

  They have a talent for judging people's characters.

  They have a talent for judging people's characters.

  • "For *judging* people's characters" is the object of the preposition "for."
  • Noun phrase (They) + verb (have) + noun phrase (a talent for *judging* people's characters).

Verbs Taking Infinitives/Gerunds as Objects

The following are verbs that can take only the base form of the verb (infinitive), only the -ing form (gerund), or both.

Verbs Taking Infinitives as Objects

• plan
• hope
• want
• decide
• agree

Example

They plan to judge the cooking competition next week.

He hopes to judge the beauty pageant someday.

We want to judge the talent show together.

She decided to judge the singing contest.

I agreed to judge the fashion show with her.

Verbs Taking Gerunds as Objects

• enjoy
• recommend
• dislike
• avoid
• imagine

Example

She enjoys judging the dance performances at the competition.

Experts recommend fair and unbiased judging in sports competitions.

I dislike judging others without understanding their perspective.

He avoids judging people based on their appearance.

Can you imagine yourself judging an international film festival?

Verbs Taking Both Infinitives and Gerunds as Objects

• like
• start
• begin

Example

She likes to judge the talent show. She likes judging the talent show.

We started to judge the art competition. We started judging the art competition.

He began to judge the dance performances. He began judging the dance performances.